Gonpachi

About

Gonpachi’s Asakusa branch pairs a river-facing setting by Azuma Bridge with a broad Japanese menu built for sharing. Its strongest point is not a single novelty dish but the combination of hand-made soba, charcoal-grilled skewers, tempura and hand rolls under one roof.

Buckwheat is selected from Japanese growing regions, milled each morning and worked into soba by hand. The cooking moves from binchotan smoke to the clean crunch of freshly fried tempura, while the drinks list reaches across Japan for sake and shochu.

Copper, old timber and a 200-year-old Kyushu camphor tree give the two-floor room a weightier feel than the usual tourist-area izakaya. Upstairs, the central ash-wood counter and broad windows make the Sumida River part of the meal.

Look beyond the broad menu and the architecture becomes unusually specific: sheet copper on the facade, reclaimed timber inside, a massive camphor trunk downstairs and a U-shaped ash counter upstairs. That material vocabulary, plus hand rolls eaten against a Sumida view, gives this branch a recognizably Asakusa-Azumabashi character.

Highlights

• Hand-made soba produced from buckwheat milled each morning
• Sumida River views in a two-floor copper-and-timber dining room
• A short walk from Asakusa Station at the foot of Azuma Bridge

What to order

• Hand-made soba — The noodles are made from buckwheat milled in-house each morning.
• Binchotan-grilled skewers — A smoky counterpoint to soba, tempura and hand-roll sushi.

Good to know

• Online reservations are available, and the restaurant operates daily from late morning through the evening.
• A minimum spend applies after 17:00; check the current amount on the restaurant’s official page.
• Gluten-free options do not mean a dedicated kitchen, so diners with celiac disease or severe sensitivity should discuss ingredients and cross-contact before ordering.

Opening hours

Getting there

Frequently asked questions